IndianOil registers a net loss of Rs. 3,719 crore
New Delhi   11-Aug-2011


Mr. R S Butola, Chairman, IndianOil

IndianOil (IOC) has posted a wider loss for the three months ended 30 June mainly because of selling petroleum products below the market price and on higher interest payments.

India's largest oil marketing company on Wednesday reported a net loss of Rs. 3,719 crore for the June quarter, against a loss of Rs. 3,388 crore a year earlier. Revenue increased 28% to Rs. 99,757 crore.

Chairman and managing director R.S. Butola attributed the wider loss to higher unmet under-recoveries, or the notional loss on selling fuel below cost, along with increasing interest rates.

Total under-recovery for IOC, which has a 49.6% share in the country's fuel retail market, for the quarter was Rs. 23,806 crore, of which Rs. 7,932 crore was given as discounts by upstream companies Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd, Oil India Ltd and GAIL (India) Ltd.

IOC has received a letter from the government for a reimbursement of Rs. 8,201 crore, leaving it with a net under-realization of Rs. 7,673 crore. The company also suffered a Rs. 900 crore inventory loss due to the removal of 5% customs duty on crude on 26 June, and paid Rs. 467 crore more on account of higher interest on borrowings. Gross refining margin (GRM), the difference between the total value of petroleum products sold and the price of crude, rose 57% to $4.71 (around Rs. 210) a barrel.

IOC, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd would have together posted an additional net profit of Rs. 5,246 crore for the year ended 31 March had they not absorbed a notional cumulative loss of Rs. 6,894 crore on selling fuel below cost.

IOC is losing Rs. 143 crore a day because it sells petrol, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas at a loss of 85 paise per litre, Rs. 6.82 per litre, Rs. 24.93 per litre and Rs. 247 per cylinder, respectively. The company's borrowings stood at Rs. 67,458 crore at the end of the June quarter, an increase of Rs. 14,724 crore in the quarter.

“The government does not have the kind of money to underwrite under-recoveries to such a large extent. At some stage, in spite of potentially inflationary pressures, reduction in diesel subsidy is inevitable,“ said Anish De, chief executive at Mercados EMI Asia, an energy consulting firm.

In response to a question on petrol price, Butola said: “We are monitoring the price situation... If there is significant reduction (in crude oil price) from current levels, there would be a cause for us to re- view prices.“

The price review does not depend only on product price but also on the dollar-rupee exchange rate, said P.K. Goyal, director of finance at IOC.

The company, which annually imports 1.5 million tonnes of oil from Iran, plans to make an outstanding payment of 387 million (around Rs. 2,510 crore) through a Turkish bank this month.

“Of the total outstanding of 460 million to Iran, we have already made a payment of 73 million. During the current month, the balance payment will be made in next 15 to 20 days through a Turkish bank,“ Goyal told reporters.

IOC shares fell 3.5% to Rs. 326.35 each on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday, while the benchmark Sensex index gained 1.62%.